The U.S. patents of Bugg U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,834 and Vitka et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,264 disclose liquid containers which are tipped to provide liquid movement simulating wave action. In the Vitka et al patent, the liquid container is in the form of an enclosed receptacle that receives two different weight, non-mixing liquids for use in simulating wave action. A lower heavier liquid layer within the receptacle consists of water and alcohol with the alcohol consisting of between 0% and 15% by volume and with the rest of water. The upper, lighter liquid layer is formed of mineral oil and a fluorinated hydrocarbon in the form of either fluorochloromethane or fluorochlorethane. A surfactant is also utilized at the interface between the two liquid levels.
In the Vitka et al patent, the receptacle has an opaque end including a partition within the receptacle interior used for trapping a small amount of air that accommodates for thermal expansion of the liquids. The construction of the receptacle is an extruded acrylic resin tubing with a height of about 3" and a width of about 2-2 1/2". When using any extruded material, one is limited in two ways. First, complete crystal clarity is sacrificed due to extrusion lines along the walls of the receptacle. Second, the largest size which can be extruded is only about 3". It is imperative that the receptacle of a wave simulation device be of a certain minimum dimension in order to achieve a realistic interpretation of an ocean wave. In other words, with this limited receptacle size one could only hope to achieve liquid motion and not a true cresting action of an ocean wave. Both height as well as width are extremely important in providing a simulator which displays correct fluid simulation of a rolling and cresting wave.
Also, a relief model technique disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,080 includes a container including top, side, and bottom wall elements that are welded and secured by fasteners to each other. Stacked transparent plates received in the container have markings that simulate a topographic map. Clear oil is received within the container about the transparent plates. Generally planar diaphragms of the container relieve oil pressure. This relief model is used for a completely different purpose than the wave simulators of the aforementioned Bugg and Vitka et al patents.